


The Time Lord Postulate

by Thette



Category: The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: Conventions, Cosplay, Dialogue Heavy, Doctor Who References, Fluff, Gen, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-02-16
Packaged: 2018-01-12 17:06:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1193001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thette/pseuds/Thette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The gang goes to Gallifrey One. It's Penny's first time cosplaying. Just a fluffy little vignette. Takes place between The Financial Permeability and The Maternal Capacitance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Time Lord Postulate

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone would like to draw them in costume, I'd be grateful forever. I can see it, but I can't draw it.
> 
> I wrote this one back in 2011, but never posted it.

"Hi, guys! Whatcha doin'?" Penny really didn't want to admit that she was just looking for company, and that she had nothing to do on her one weekend off this month.

"Making costumes," Sheldon said from his desk without looking up at her. Penny could feel her eyes growing wider in shock. The computer had been moved, and on the desk was a sewing machine and several lengths of fabric in all kinds of colors and textures, much of it red.

"I didn't know you could sew." That got his attention.

"Of course I can sew. How else would I be able to get costumes?"

"Of course you can." When Sheldon got the hang of sarcasm, they'd all be screwed.

"Besides, pattern making is just basic three dimensional rotation and stretching. I don't even have to take dimensions four through twenty six into account." He huffed his freaky quiet chuckle, and started ignoring her again. She rolled her eyes at the whackadoodle and sat beside Leonard, who was knitting on the sofa.

"And what are you making?"

"We're all going to Gallifrey One, the Doctor Who convention, so I'm making a scarf for my Fourth Doctor costume. That's why my hair is so long, I'm saving it to get a proper Tom Baker hairdo." His hair really was long. Her fingers itched to give it a proper ruffle, but it'd probably hurt his feelings.

"Real hair doesn't help when you're ten inches too short to play the part." Leonard rolled his eyes behind Sheldon's back.

"So I'm going as the Fourth Doctor, in the costume from Destiny of the Daleks."

"Have I seen that one?"

"It's the one with Rock, Paper, Scissors and 'DO NOT MOVE!' from when we had the Dalek marathon."

"Oh, yeah, disco robots! That one was kind of fun."

"Sheldon's going as the Sixth Doctor..."

"The Sixth Doctor's costume is the best way to get value for my money. Look at all these colors, Penny!" His Texan twang came through, and he smiled like a kid in a candy store.

"I can see them. Can you, really?"

"...Howard is going as a Dalek, with some really advanced robotics."

"And knowing Howard, he's probably going to use the eyestalk to look down cleavages."

"True. I bet he'll have a webcam installed."

"Ewww. What about Raj?"

"He's keeping his costume secret, but I'm guessing he'll be a Cyberman to match Howard."

"I know! I can join you, and be that girl who beat the Dalek with the baseball bat!"

"That would be Ace, companion to the Seventh Doctor, who incidentally would be a much better choice for Leonard," Sheldon explained. "While your temperaments match and her costume would be easy even for a beginner like you, her colors are all wrong. You do have a similar facial bone structure, though, so if you're prepared to learn some chemistry and dye your hair, it might work."

"Chemistry?"

"Yes, Ace was an autodidact, and her home made explosives were integral to the plot of several of their adventures."

"Sheldon, I don't think the Marriott people are going to allow us to bring our own explosives," Leonard said. He sounded tired, as if this was a subject they had been going over before. Knowing them, they probably had. "Do you really want to join us?" he asked.

It had been a wild idea to suggest it, but she found she wanted to go. Doctor Who, at least the new series, was much more fun than Star Trek, anyway. The old series was kind of cute, even if some of it was badly dated, and she liked the Fourth Doctor. "Sure, if I can afford it." That's it. She was totally a geek now. No turning back.

"Don't worry, it's on me if you want to cosplay! The first one is free, you know."

"Ah, excellent use of metalepsis, when you implied that cosplaying is as addictive as illicit drug use. Good one, Leonard!" Sheldon chuckled again. "I think you would make a better Rose, Penny. Some of your hoodies are almost identical, and her 'no A-levels' education level is a good match to your few community college courses."

"Screw you, Sheldon." She didn't have the energy to be angry at him. He was just being his usual insufferable self, as always. "But yeah, I'll go. And my costume is a secret, too."

"Do you need help?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm the queen of second hand shopping, and I've altered a few things in my days."

***

Finding the right clothes for her outfit was harder than expected. The boots were easy to find, she only needed to make a few adjustments to her winter coat from back home, and she already had a blouse that would work, but there was nothing to buy that was even remotely similar to the pants or vest. She didn't want to spoil the surprise for Leonard, and she knew Sheldon couldn't keep a secret. That meant she would have to ask for help from Howard or Raj. Damn.

_hi raj i need ur help_

_I still can't speak to you without alcohol. How could I possibly help? -RK_

_pretty plz? cu at 7 ur place_

She knocked on Raj's door, and prayed to a deity she didn't believe in that he would let her in, and that he wouldn't be a drunken ass today. He opened the door, looking at her silently.

"Uhm... Hi! I need your help. Can I come in?" He stepped aside, and gestured for her to enter. "OK, I want to make a costume for the convention and surprise Leonard, but I need some help. I've never made a pair of pants from scratch before, and I'm stuck."

Raj held up one finger, and left for the kitchen. He swept back a mouthful of wine, and started talking. "Of course I can help. I hope you're going as Leela, because that would be awesome." Oh, there it was. The leer. She raised one eyebrow, and he fell silent again and slunk back to the couch.

"Not Leela." She opened her bag and showed him the fabric she had chosen, and he smiled in instant recognition. "And if you don't stop hitting on me, I'm going to Howard for help, and I'm telling him about that Cyberman helmet of yours over there."

"I keep your secret, and you keep mine."

"It's a deal." ** **  
****

***

Penny ran her hands over her hips. The pants she and Raj made fit her perfectly, and she looked so very good in this, even if the style was outdated. Her heart was beating fast and hard, and she was blushing. What if he didn't like this, after all she'd gone through? Cosplaying was a fun idea, but she would never have done it if she didn't want to get Leonard's attention. Would shared interests be enough for him to forget about her failed education? Or would this particular costume just bring it back again? She adjusted the scarf, fluffed her blonde hair, and stepped out to knock on the door across the hallway.

Leonard opened the door, dressed up as the Fourth Doctor. When he saw her, he tripped on his scarf and fell face first on the floor. "Leonard! Are you OK?" she asked, helping him up.

"I am. Wow. I... You... Romana..."

"Do you like it?" She spun for him, the long white scarf floating.

"It's... I can't believe you did this..."

"I look good in pink." Why had she said that when she meant she wanted to look good with him?

"Yeah, you do." He smiled that goofy smile of his, and she smiled back.

Heavy steps sounded from below, and Raj's head in a Cyber helmet showed around the corner of the stairs. "Howard's getting impatient. We need to go if he's going to have time to get inside that Dalek shell...mmmpfh!" He clasped his hands over his mouth the moment he saw her.

"Poor Raj, I wish you could talk around me. You look great!" He really did. The Cyberwoman bikini suited him really well.

He smiled, and pressed a button. "The human race is weak. I can help you."

"I appreciate the effort, but it's kind of tricky to keep a conversation going with only recorded lines." Raj shrugged, as if saying that it was better than nothing.

"If you are done admiring each other, we need to go now." Sheldon, as usual. No tact, which suited the Sixth Doctor costume perfectly. And oh, she could use what she learnt on Wikipedia.

"I believe that's 'We need to go now, Madame President' to you."

"Not likely. That's from the books and audio plays, and thus nowhere near canon." He shook his head, and the blond curls of his wig danced around his face.

"Not that there's such a thing as canon in the Whoniverse, just ask RTD and Moffat," Leonard said.

"You're also clearly dressed as a very early Romana II, which means if I choose to accept your presidency, it's in your character's future. Not to mention the fact that the Doctor is the President at this point in his character arc." He gestured to himself.

"Not according to Trial of a Time Lord," Leonard argued.

"Whatever," she interrupted the argument and dragged Leonard down the stairs by the scarf. "Let's go take the con by storm!"


End file.
